Leaving the welfare rolls: the health and mental health status of current and former welfare recipients.

This paper summarizes the mail survey findings of 1,634 respondents examining the impact of welfare reform, namely the Work and Gain Economic Self Sufficiency (WAGES) program, in two urban areas of Florida. The health and mental health status, quality of life, and service needs of adults and children who had left WAGES were compared with those of current recipients. Findings indicate that 60% of the respondents had left WAGES during a 14-month period. Compared to former WAGES recipients, current recipients reported significantly poorer health and mental health status. Additionally, the children of current recipients had significantly greater health needs compared to those of former WAGES recipients. Although no group difference existed regarding the children's mental health status, the percentage of children scoring above the criterion suggesting a need for further psychosocial evaluation was twice the rate that would be expected in a general pediatric sample. Transportation was the only service need in which a significant group difference was found, with current recipients reporting significantly greater need compared to former recipients. Compared to former WAGES recipients, current recipients reported significantly lower levels of satisfaction with their leisure opportunities, employment or educational status, financial condition, legal and safety, family's health, and with their overall quality of their lives.

Outcomes associated with clinical profiles of children in psychiatric crisis enrolled in intensive, in-home interventions.

Little is known about the characteristics of children and youth presenting at emergency settings in psychiatric crisis, and virtually nothing is known about their outcomes. The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical profiles of 238 children presenting at two psychiatric emergency settings and enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of three intensive in-home interventions. A second purpose is to examine child mental health outcomes, based on clinical profile and to suggest the utility of using a clinical-profiles approach.

Conducting research in culturally diverse inner-city neighborhoods: some lessons learned.

Social, behavioral, and health research among disenfranchised groups in inner cities poses problems in collecting data. It is a challenge to achieve data of sufficient quantity and quality necessary to be scientifically usable. This article describes the experiences of a research team during two phases of data collection in a mental health intervention study in New York's South Bronx. Challenges in addressing human subject concerns, the formation of a fieldwork team, enrollment and retention of respondents, and administration of instruments are described and solutions are discussed. Emphasis is placed on researchers' approaches to the selection, orientation, and safety of interviewers, interviewer-respondent race and ethnic matching, contacts and rapport with respondents, and the handling of such interpersonal issues as distrust, poor cooperation, and family dynamics. The procedures developed took into consideration the culture and life conditions of the population to ensure a satisfactory response rate and high-quality data.